The brisket sandwich can be paired with one of 10 sides, including collard greens, macaroni and cheese, baked beans, potato salad and green beans. Evan Marczynski/Community Impact Newspaper

Photo by Evan Marczynski/Community Impact Newspaper

Hello Sweetie BBQ & More used to be all about sweets, owner Al Shankle said.

After an injury put him out of a 16-year career with the Texas Lottery, Shankle decided to try selling dessert items, including ice cream and funnel cakes, out of a shop he opened in 2012 on South Austin Avenue.

But soon after opening, Shankle said the need for more consistent business motivated a change in focus. His religious faith also played a role.

“God kept on speaking to me about cooking and about barbecue, and I’m in prayer, talking to him, and I’m saying, ‘Well, you know, I don’t even know how to cook,’” he said.

Although today he uses more advanced equipment, Shankle said he taught himself the trade through trial and error, initially using a barbecue smoker he bought on sale for $249 at an H-E-B store.

Attracting business to a barbecue restaurant located on the far south end of Georgetown can be a challenge, but Shankle said his customer base has grown since he opened.

“I think that’s the driving force, in a sense,” he said. “I still want that home feeling, so I give [customers]a home-cooked meal. And if I had a bigger place, I’d probably add a lot more [to the menu].”

Shankle said he plans to boost the catering side of Hello Sweetie in 2018.

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“Catering is our goal this year,” he said. “I have never ventured out that far with that stuff, but I know that’s what’s going to take me to that next level, because I can only get so many people in here [at the restaurant]. The catering is something I can do and take to them.”

Why is it called Hello Sweetie?

Hello Sweetie is more than just a business name. At Al Shankle’s restaurant, the moniker is also a greeting that every customer receives when he or she walks in the door.

Shankle said the idea is to give customers a unique experience.

“I don’t want it to be like a business; I want people to feel like they’re at home when they come,” he said. “We want to give them a lot of personality.”

Evan Marczynski is editor of the Georgetown edition of Community Impact Newspaper. He joined Community Impact in 2016 as a reporter in Northwest Austin and previously covered Austin-area health care and Round Rock ISD. Evan is a native of the Pacific Northwest, where he earned a bachelor’s degree in journalism from Western Washington University in 2012 and worked as a newspaper reporter until he moved to Texas.